From the summit of Puketāpapa to the food forest at Molley Green Reserve, Matariki shone with celebration across Mount Roskill.

As residents across the motu welcomed in the Māori New Year, the team from Kāinga Ora joined to celebrate and show support at several events and get-togethers:

Puketāpapa Manu Aute Kite Day

With more than 7,000 people and whānau attending the annual event, the Roskill Development and Kāinga Ora team joined in on the activities and workshops.

Attendees enjoyed kite flying and games, waiata and kapa haka. More than 500 people also stopped by the Kāinga Ora stall to talk about the new infrastructure and homes coming under Roskill Development.

“It was great to see the community really getting behind the Matariki spirit,” says Karla Beazley, Kāinga Ora Community Development Coordinator.

“We received lots of positive messages about how nice the new homes are looking and how our communities are growing.”

Whakanuiaa Matariki

Over at the Wesley Community Centre’s Youth Zone, it was time for star making and temporary Māori tattoos, kai and performances across a range of cultures.

About 300 people got involved, with local kuia and kaumatua sharing their wisdom about Matariki and Māori culture. The Kāinga Ora team were there to support, leading more than 80 people getting stuck into star-making sessions.

“There was lots of thanks to staff for their kindness in teaching and explaining the meaning behind star making,” says Karla. “Especially from people across the range of cultures who joined us.”

“This was a really special event, and it’s all thanks to the work of our local community partners for bringing everything together in true Matariki style.”

Matariki at the Māra

It was all about fresh and healthy kai as people learned how to build a traditional tāpapa, or seed bed for growing kūmara, during Matariki at the Māra.

Held at Molley Green Reserve’s māra kai (community garden), attendees also planted native trees while tamariki, rangatahi and the whole whānau got creative with crafts, chalk drawing and face painting.

People brought kai to share and organisers from Roskill South Hub, Puketāpapa Climate Action and Friends of Molley Green Reserve cooked fried bread, a boil-up and other treats.

Kelly Francis, founder of Whenua Warrior, was there to teach attendees about traditional techniques for indigenous food, including growing kūmara from tipu (shoots).

Molley Green Reserve is currently being upgraded by Kāinga Ora and civil construction partners LEAD Alliance, including daylighting Te Auaunga (Oakley Creek) as it flows through the reserve and restoring it to a more natural state.